Okoth June 2026

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’” (Matthew 25:21).

I had an update written for this year and I (Paul) could not bring myself to send it for some reason. It needed something more and this is it. All Christians desire to hear Jesus’ Words at the end of their toil in this life. I know I do. We received the news that the founder of Rafiki, Rosemary Jensen, entered into glory on May 31, 2026 and I could not help but reflect upon the impact that her life has had on mine and so many others. I want to use this update as an introduction for those who I have not met and a reflection of the impact that one person’s faithfulness to God can have in the lives of hundreds of thousands if not millions.

Rafiki was founded forty years ago, and I do not think the founder knew it would be what it is today. I have been told that she often said that she did the next right thing as she pondered what to do next in her life which led her to start Rafiki and have offices in an extra bedroom at her house. All this led to the start of orphanages, which led to the start of schools, development of the Rafiki Bible Study (RBS), a classical Christian curriculum, a teacher training college, and finally to an Outreach Program that takes most of these outside Rafiki. These programs are the reason that I am here today writing this. The life of Rosemary Jensen is intertwined with mine in a way only God could have designed it.

Teachers from three schools that are using Rafiki Eduction System

Rafiki built an orphanage in Kenya in 2004 and took in one hundred orphans. I was not one of them because I was not an orphan yet. But by 2007 they had started a school for their orphans, and they had started recruiting what they called community Day Students. These were children from impoverished families and orphans from the surrounding community. I would be one of these students who was recruited from a nearby school two kilometers from the Rafiki Village in Kenya. By God’s providence, I had just moved in with my sister in 2007 from my brother’s house where I lived since my mother passed away in 2005. At the end of 2007 I had taken the interview, and I started school at Rafiki in 2008. During the time I spent at Rafiki—almost 20 years—I never met Rosemary personally. I saw her in her old age when she came to visit the Village and I can point to some pictures and say, “I’m somewhere back there” with her in the foreground. That is as much contact as I had but she touched my life greatly. In 2011 one of the missionaries was teaching us how to pray and we were using Rosemary’s book Praying the Attributes of God: A Guide to Personal Worship Through Prayer. This book was instrumental to me coming to faith. I could go into specifics, but I will leave that for another time, or when I see you all in person someday. Years later, I finished high school and so happened that the year before, in 2013, the Rafiki Teachers College (RICE) opened its doors. I was called at the end of 2014 to consider joining, which I did in 2015. I grew in my knowledge of who God is through the Rafiki Bible Study and years later as I taught at the Rafiki School in Kenya, the Lord brought my wife to me as a Rafiki Missionary, and the rest is history.

Why am I mentioning all this and what does it have to do with what I do? Without Rosemary Jensen, I would not be here today. God used her faithfulness to reach me, a random African man who He is using to continue the work and impact of Rosemary’s ministry. As it stands today, we continue delivering Bibles to all children who can read in our partner schools each year through the Rosemary Jensen Bible Foundation. We keep training teachers to use the Rafiki Education System which has God at the center of learning and spreading the gospel through education. We keep working to equip local churches with Bibles, RBS materials, and various other resources we have from our ministry partners. All these could not have been possible if Rosemary was not faithful with what God had given to her.

Bible delivery to local partner school

I thank God for life and her ministry. She is an inspiration and a great example of a life well lived. A life rooted in God’s Word and to His service. Even now as she is with the Lord, she continues to touch the lives of so many people through the ministry that she has left behind. One day my daughters will look back and thank God for her also and my hope is that others who have been reached with the work that we do here will do so also despite never meeting her.

Amber and I are thankful for you all and your giving so that we are able to serve here and have an impact. You also are part of this great mission to reach the people here in Africa and particularly here in Uganda where we are. Your continuous giving helps this ministry to continue thriving. We could not do this without you and your prayers for us.

We are grateful specifically this year for Grace Church who have stood with us and sent a few members to come out and see what we do. All three of them traveled with me to schools that we serve, one of them traveled for an extra 8-hour drive (one way) with me just after landing. Very grateful to Josh, David, and Diana for their visit this year and their love and support, and the whole Grace Church family. We are hoping to see you all soon.

Bible delivery with Diana from Grace Church

David, Josh, and Diana from Grace Church

In other news, Anaiah turned one and we are expecting a sister for her by June’s end. Keep Amber in prayer as she continues wrestling with all that comes with pregnancy . There is an Ebola outbreak that threatens the shutdown of hospitals. Please pray that she will deliver safely and that the hospitals will not be closed during that time or at all.

Birthday princess

Anaiah’s first birthday cake!

Finally, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Thank you.

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PS: If you desire to know more about how Rosemary’s ministry and life has impacted me and so many others, please reach out and I will be glad to tell you all about it. You can also learn about her life by visiting a website Rafiki has set up specifically to honor Rosemary at https://www.RosemaryJensen.org/